Solar sail trajectories and orbit phasing of modular spacecraft for segmented telescope assembly about sun-earth l2

In-space assembly of a segmented primary mirror is needed to produce a large primary mirror bigger than LUVOIR, about 30m in diameter. We propose a novel mission concept for a segmented space telescope where each identical mirror segment is placed on modular spacecraft. Individual modules are launched as payloads of opportunity that self-assemble about the Sun-Earth L2 point. They use a solar sail as a means of continuous thrust propulsion. After docking, the solar sails are steered to overlap and create a planar sun shield for the telescope. We provide the framework for minimizing the total mission assembly time.